Tag Archives: Orange Tree Theatre

Writer: George Bernard Shaw Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: Richard Maguire The full title of Bernard Shaw’s 1909 comedy is Misalliance: A Debate in One Sitting, but the Orange Tree has wisely chosen to omit the subtitle of its latest production of lesser-known works by the Irish playwright. There is debate here, but this is a more light-hearted Shaw than we ...

Writer: Lot Vekemans Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: Richard Maguire Another week, another one-act two-hander opens in London. First Heisenberg at the Wyndham’s and, last week, Trestle at Southwark Playhouse and now, this week, Poison at the Orange Tree Theatre. Whereas the other two are forms of romcoms tracing the first days of new relationships, Poison takes place at the other end, focussing on a failed marriage torn apart ...

Writer: David Storey Director: Alice Hamilton Reviewer: Richard Maguire Until this year, theatre reviewers had to exercise caution when it came to writing about David Storey plays. Reliable rumour has it that back in 1976 Storey slapped The Guardian’s Michael Billington around the head after he had written a particularly sniffy review of Storey’s new play. In fact, there’s very ...

Writer: Elinor Cook Director: James Grieve Reviewer: John Kennedy Elinor Cook's life-affirming, celebratory love-letter to childhood innocence, inseparable friendship, parental break-ups, adolescent angst and amazement, not least, teenage clumsy fag and bike-shed fumbling are the stepping-stones of Lorna and Grace's lives. The play's title has teasing ambiguities. Out of their love, any later nuance of gay affection, seems almost trivial, ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: Laura Hibbert The show begins and audience are shown a taste of the surprising, yet delightful quality to come, inTerence Rattigan’s 1930s light-hearted comedyFrench Without Tears, as Kenneth (also known as Babe) pours a real, hot and steaming pot of coffee into his cup. Much like the effects of the beloved hot beverage, ...

Writer : Terence Rattigan Director : Paul Miller Reviewer : Joan Phillips Battle lines are drawn, the enemy identified, the fight begins. Terence Rattigan’s very funny French Without Tears is the clearest demonstration of the need to understand your enemy before going into afight. In this case, the target is not mastering the French language or ‘Johnny Foreigner’, on the ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Paul Miller Reviewer: David Guest It is hard to understand why Terence Rattigan tried to play down the success of his first major offering, French Without Tears, fearing it would mark him as frivolous and lightweight. As Director Paul Miller seeks to prove in this Orange Tree co-production with the English Touring Theatre, Rattigan’s 1936 comedy ...

Writer: Robert Holman Director: Alice Hamilton Designer: James Perkins Reviewer: Ron Simpson The pre-publicity for German Skerries describes it thus: “A friendship, a marriage, a holiday, a death.” Factually this is correct; the impression, however, is slightly misleading. Of the three scenes, the first deals with the meeting and developing the friendship of Jack, a young factory worker, and Martin, ...